Running USB DSL Modem

[Rod Smith]

[Posted and mailed]

In article <e8yx6.5413$tG3.255011 at news1.atl>,
	"Cpt_Kirks" <tkirksey at bigfoot.com> writes:
> Is it possible to use Wine to run USB DSL modems with Win9x only drivers?  I
> had a choice of a free PCI  or USB modem and heard I had a better shot with
> the USB.   There are no Linux drivers, at least for now.

No. There are drivers for an Alcatel model at
http://www.alcatel.com/consumer/dsl/supuser.htm, but that's the only one
of which I'm aware, and WINE certainly won't help. Internal PCI DSL
modem drivers are also extremely rare. I know of one (the Diamond 1MM;
I've got links at http://www.rodsbooks.com/network/network-dsl.html).

If your ISP offers only those two choices, see if you can order
installation WITHOUT the modem, and supply your own. Get an external
Ethernet-interfaced device along with an Ethernet card that's supported
in Linux. The Ethernet-based modem itself won't need Linux drivers,
just the Ethernet card. Find out PRECISELY what modems work with your
ISP, then buy one. Most ADSL lines these days use a standard called
DMT, and DMT modems are interoperable, although you may need to tweak
some settings to get specific models to work with specific operators. A
few companies (like ZyXEL, http://www.zyxel.com, and Westell,
http://www.westell.com) sell products directly via their Web pages.
Some are also available from a few online retailers, but this is quite
rare.

-- 
Rod Smith, rodsmith at rodsbooks.com
http://www.rodsbooks.com
Author of books on Linux & multi-OS configuration